A member of the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force is worried about the South and visited with Gov. Kay Ivey and others in Montgomery on Wednesday to discuss the growing problem.
Ivey hosted Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force, at the Governor’s Mansion, where the two held a round table discussion along with State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris, other state health individuals, business and religious leaders and other lawmakers, according to a press release from Ivey’s office.
Members of the press were not permitted to attend.
“Dr. Birx emphasized very strongly that this is a critical time for the South to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and that the governor’s decision to issue a statewide mask order was ‘brilliant’ and critical to keeping our businesses open and running safely,” Ivey’s office said in the release.
Those at the round table discussed testing, the approved COVID-19 treatment drug Remdesivir and how to safely reopen schools and churches, according to the press release.
“Dr. Birx explained that early on, the virus seemed to be concentrated in large cities in the Northeast, however, this has not proven to be accurate in the South. She expressed how the South, specifically Alabama, has high rates statewide,” the release states.
“Dr. Birx told the governor that she was personally worried about the South, which is why she visited our state in person. Governor Ivey is appreciative for her time and knowledge and looks forward to keeping an open dialogue with her and the Trump Administration as we work through the pandemic,” the release continues.
The meeting at the Governor’s Mansion came on a day when Alabama saw a record single-day increase in the number of COVID-19 deaths. Coronavirus hospitalizations are expected to rise again Wednesday as well, after more than a week of record-breaking daily hospitalizations.
Ivey earlier on Wednesday announced a statewide mask order to slow the spread of coronavirus.
